Publicity Is Not PR. PR Is Not Publicity.

If you don’t know Sasha Muradali, go on over to her blog, Little Pink Book PR. That is where this post first was published and it came to life because we are both huge Mad Men fans. If you already read it there, by all means, ignore me today.

If you didn’t read it on Sasha’s blog, welcome to my obsession of Mad Men. I love the storyline, the characters, the old days of advertising, the three martini lunches, and the clothes…oh the clothes!

While, I love the series, the first episode of this season really rubbed me the wrong way.

Publicity is not PR.

PR is not publicity.

I was only a year or so into my career and not even I could explain what I did.

But that movie helped so many people “understand” what we do. A friend said,

“OH! So that’s what you do.”

Umm, no.

Shows such as Sex & the City, PoweR Girls, and SPINdustry (as Sasha blogged about here) do nothing more than sensationalize what we do for a living…and in a fairly harmful and untruthful way.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never created a fake fight over a ham, a fake war to distract from indiscretions, created hype over a celebrity who was coming to an opening only to “back out” at the last minute, or allowed a client to spin the truth, just to make headlines.

I’m so much against this idea of our profession, in fact, that this blog is named Spin Sucks for that very reason.

The idea that no PR is bad PR is ridiculous, as evidenced by the most recent news with BP, Tiger Woods, LeBron James…need I go on?

There is such a thing as bad PR.

There is such a thing as spin.

There is a difference between nightclub openings, the paparazzi, and pairing celebrities with brands. This is publicity.

And it’s not what most of us in the public relations profession do for a living.

The problem is so much of what we do is invisible to the ‘outside’ (and even those within close proximity.)

People can confuse public relations with its end product.

While, I am positive a lot is wrong with the way Mad Men portrays the advertising agencies, let’s get real here.

Public relations and publicity are not synonymous. However, many PR campaigns include means for publicity.

It is the child of effective public relations planning. Not the other way around.

‘Spin,’ on the other hand, that’s propaganda:-

“The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest.”

– (Edward L. Bernays, “The Engineering of Consent”, 1947)

Public relations is about two-way communication and engagement. It is a social science that manages communication between an organization and its publics, not to mention that it provides an organization, or individual, exposure to their target audiences.

Encompassing social media, it bridges the gap between advertising, marketing and journalism.

Public relations was created by Edward Bernays, not by a bunch of girls in mini-skirts and too-tight shirts, not by celebrity-seeing junkies, not by a girl who is famous for a sex tape, and certainly not by an advertising agency in the 1960s.

I'm sorry... PR is 10% about getting publicity? Can you list the other 90% for me? You just say:

"Public relations is about two-way communication and engagement. It is a social science that manages communication between an organization and its publics, not to mention that it provides an organization, or individual, exposure to their target audiences."

Can you help me out with this? I'm missing what comprises the other 90%.

Amen Gini! I always stress that public relations is about relationships...two-way communication breeds relationships and long-term relationships at that. The proof is in the two-way. If you're doing all the talking and no listening, you're not really learning about the people you're talking to and you don't know much about how to talk to them and when and where or what to say.

Erik: Totally agree! Perhaps you can call my friends and family and tell them what I do for a living?

Jay: Dang. And here I thought I'd finally figured out what you do for a living. BTW, how's the limestone?

Mimi: PR delivers gift baskets?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!? That makes MY blood pressure rise! What did you do? Perhaps we should discuss this on a train ride from Chicago to Washington?

Ann: Welcome to Spin Sucks! Thanks for the visit and the comment.

Jan: Don't I already walk on water?!? Bwa ha ha!!

Shenetta: I don't know how you can stand to watch SPINdustry. I'd be furious through the entire show. Though, now that I think about it, it would provide great Spin Sucks fodder! See you in Chicago SOON!

Great post. I'm obsessed with Christina Hendricks (never actually watched Mad Men even though it is on the list to catch on). And yes, the clothes back then were so much better and I would like to start a campaign to reinstate the 3 martini lunch!

I have never understood the concept of "there is no such thing as bad PR." Really? As an "average" person not in the PR biz, yeah there is. The 3 examples you used are perfect. Tiger looks worse and has fallen in the general public eye and may never come out from it, Lebron came across as a spoiled brat, and well yeah BP looks good don't they. I am of the opinion, if the situation makes you look horrible, it's bad PR no matter what and you are going to take a serious hit from it. Another good example is the massive pet food recall from a couple years ago. Every company that was effected is still trying to gain back trust that was lost with the public and try to improve our general image. Companies that weren't even effected are having to do the same as it was such a black eye to the industry. Nothing good PR wise came from that. Except from the additional grey hair I got from all of the extra work it generated for me.

Well, it appears I've either reinvented an existing quote or absorbed it from somewhere without realizing it. Would love to know its origins if anyone knows them. Regradless I do genuinely believe PR is truth well told!

Great post. My friends keep asking me if I watch that SPINdustry show and if any of my projects are like that. Um no - I don't go get lip injections at the urging of my boss or dress like I'm going out to a nightclub (the first episode). The most disturbing thing about the series and the MadMen episode is that the younger generation is looking at those things as their definition of PR and thinking that's what they want to do when they grow up. So it's a never-ending, vicious cycle of the inaccuracies in our field! Ugh.

The good news is, you've taken your passion and moved forward into the world of entrepreneurship!Hard work? yes! Frustrating? yes! Rewarding? absolutely!The first step of tackling each new growth opportunity both personally and professionally is taking the first step.This is where support, encouragement, brainstorming, and allowing yourself and your staff to grow and learn comes into play. So here's your encouraging words for today.....Keep moving forward, be consistent, and be passionate! Remember, "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat!"

I have always loved the quote, "PR is the truth well told." I used it often as a defense when execs would say, "see how you can spin this." I can't tell you how much this post resonated with me. I spent 20 years in PR, with much energy spent on selling the strategic importance of folding it into an overall marketing and communication plan. (Yikes, it's making my blood pressure rise thinking of some of those meetings.) My favorite moment was when one of the marketing execs was defining PR and said, "Well...marketing talks to the audience and PR delivers gift baskets." I'm not sure it is understood any better today than it was then, but posts like this certainly help.

I tend to take the far too long view. So forgive me if this gets a bit esoteric.

Media is about delivering us entertainment and news. The news part was cleverly divided up by the pioneers of modern newspapers (some 150 years ago!) into content that readers really want to know (news) and content that businesses will pay to deliver (advertising). One pays the bills, the other gets the eyeballs that make the bill payers excited.

This separation is a fiction created by the nature of the media that first defined it into a business model. Different kinds of media will naturally treat the separation differently. Sometimes, there is no separation at all as people rip apart the Sunday newspaper to go straight for the big packet o' glossy ads.

The ancient model that made Hearst and Pulitzer rich has broken down after an amazingly long run. How and why is an interesting topic - but it's best to start with what advertising really is outside of the model that separated it. It really is a kind of news, and that's all.

Gini thanks for posting this. I've spoken or written this same message so many, many times but it can't be said enough. Perhaps one of the greatest hurdles for our industry is that we, collectively, are yet to offer a simple and clear definition.

Another Bernays quotation: Public Relations is a management function which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interest of an organization followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.

Accurate, yes. But...huh? One has to think too hard to gain "understanding and acceptance" of this message. It also conveys what I call old school PR thinking -defines the policies, procedures and interest of an organization - rather than the more modern approach to define the interests of an organization's audience, thereby being relevant, impactful and engaging.

We, as an industry, need to simplify, to be as accurate and CLEAR as we coach our clients to be.

I admit that I have turned to defining by tactics (I write, I develop messages, etc.) because people who don't think like PR folk just don't seem to otherwise get it.

I like the Mad Men parallel to your story. I never subscribed to the any PR is good PR school of thought. Publicity for publicity sake does not a strategy make. A well thought out and PR plan has measurable goals.

Thank you for writing this - it amazes me how often this misconception is repeated and persists. There comes a moment, in a new business conversation when a client prospect may talk about how they hope we'll get some publicity for them. How they want us to "make it go viral." That's the moment in which we decide whether this client can learn what it is we do, or whether there's someone else they need to hire; that's just not what we do.

@H18 Sure! Publicity really encompasses working with the media in some form: Getting your client on TV, on the cover of People, or in the newspaper. Now it's been extended to bloggers. But that's only part of what communication pros do.

Sandra: I can't tell you're a Mad Men fan! :) A friend just tweeted me that he has a friend who is a publicist who says, "As long as the check clears, I don't care what people say about me." I guess as long as there are people like that associated with our industry, it's going to be hard to change the perception that spin, does indeed, suck.

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